Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. LII

No 16

20-Apr-2009

REGIONAL/GCC

Bonds The Bright Spot In Economic Gloom

Recent successful tapping of the bond market by a number of issuers is a silver lining among the clouds of economic gloom. First quarter global investment grade debt issuances hit a record of $824bn, and encouraged by household names like BMW and Daimler, Abu Dhabi and Qatari governments have come to market. Taken at face value, the cost of debt appears to be high for these issuers, given...